End of Deception
by baka-neko-fan
Summary: Sequel to Twin Hearts of Destiny... I really don't have anything more to say for the summary. Gift Fic, will eventually go along with the plots of Gift of the Night Fury and Riders of Berk.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon or Dragon Heart or anything affiliated with either.

This is a sequel to "Twin Hearts of Destiny," and this first chapter is just a prologue.

* * *

"She looks like she's sleeping." A soft voice commented in a cave that was dimly lit by molten lava that flowed slowly in the background. A young dragon stood over the form of a young girl, who truly could have been asleep- if not for the massive crimson spike that stuck out of her chest, and the pool of blood that continued to gather around her.

A larger, and much older, dragon murmured, "She's so young..."

Watching the trail of blood join with the lava flow and sizzle, the younger added, "Too young..." He then seemed to remember something and straightened up, "Father," He looked to the other, determined, "You told me once that there's a way... A way to fix things like this... When humans get hurt... What is it?"

The father hesitated, "It is possible to share your heart with a human... But it can only be done once in a lifetime, and you must choose carefully. If the human's heart is impure, it will corrupt yours as well... And it gives them partial invincibility. The dragon would become their life force. Any wound that either the dragon or the human suffers, the pain would be shared between the two, and the human could not die until the dragon does. For those reasons... It's extremely risky."

Drake considered this for a moment, looking at the human girl with a pained expression before finally closing his eyes, "How do you do it?" He questioned, "What do I have to do?"

For a moment, there was silence as the two dragons looked one another in the eye, before finally the larger asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"She's my friend! I can't just let her... She's a good person, you said so yourself." Drake whimpered, moving to the girl and pulling the spike out of her chest. "She can't die..."

"If you're sure..." Draco guided his son through the process of lifting his chestplate and cutting out his own heart with the words, "Half my heart to make you whole. It's strength to purify your weakness."

For a time, there was an eerie calm as half of Drake's heart beat within Audney's chest. He faintly wondered if he'd done something wrong, but just as he was about to voice his concerns, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest as Audney's wounds began to heal suddenly. "Augh!" He fell to the ground, his head beside hers, wheezing in pain. And then, slowly, her eyes opened. "Aud...ney?" He called out softly.

The girl sat up suddenly and turned to the dragon, "Drake! Drake, what happened? Are you okay?" She fretted, gently touching a hand to his head. She didn't see any visible wounds to tend, so she wasn't sure what more she could do.

With a small smile, the young dragon replied simply, "You're alive," and closed his eyes, exhaustion from the day's events and the extreme pain getting the better of him and rendering him unconscious.

"Drake..." Horror washed over Audney's face as she recalled the last few moments of her life. One of the spines on the Red Death's tail had blown out in the explosion and was going to impale Drake if she didn't do something. So she'd... Placing both hands on her chest where there should have been the spine of the tail, she felt that there was a hole in her shirt, and, looking down, saw a scar through that blood-stained hole. "I don't understand..." She murmured.

A deep voice from behind her "He'll be fine... You saved his life." Audney whirled around to face Draco, but calmed the moment she saw the dragon's face. "You saved his life, and so, he saved yours."

A hand still clutching the hole in her shirt, she asked softly, "How? Why? I don't... I don't understand... One minute, there was a spike coming at his head... I tried to get him out of the way... That's all I remember, that spike hurtling towards us."

Draco moved said spike into the light for her to see, "You caught it instead of him. It went straight through you," The girl twisted and turned, reaching around herself, until she finally managed to feel a second hole on the back of her shirt.

"Am I... Am I dead?" She squeaked, looking to the dragon.

"By rights, you should be," He replied, wanting to make sure that she was aware of this fact, "But Drake insisted upon saving you. There's an ancient glory that was bestowed upon us dragons, the ability to share our hearts with a human." Audney looked even more confused at this, so he went on, "'Half my heart to make you whole. It's strength to purify your weakness,' that is the intention of the ceremony. The dragon removes half of his heart and places it into a human's chest. With this, the dragon and human share in everything, every pain, every emotion, even death... For a person with a dragon's heart cannot die until the dragon does, as well. We can do this but once in our lives, and it is a great risk, for if the human's heart is impure, it will taint the dragon's own."

The girl looked down at the scar on her chest, "Drake did that... for me?" She whispered, in awe.

"He did," Draco affirmed, "So live well, and stand by your word. Remember the Old Code."

Tears welled up in Audney's eyes as she rushed to Drake's side and lifted his head, forcing the unconscious dragon into a hug, "Oh, Drake! I'm so sorry, you didn't have to do this for me! I... I promise you, buddy, I'll never do anything to make you regret this."

"I know you wouldn't," Drake's voice came from over her shoulder. She pulled back to stare into his now-open and aware eyes, "I know... So don't cry, okay?"

She sniffled and let go of the young dragon's head to wipe her eyes obediently. For a time, they stayed like this, and silence filled the cave, with the exception of the occasional popping of bubbles of lava, until finally, Audney got to her feet and turned to face Draco, "Please," She said earnestly, "Please, help me become stronger. Help me learn... to protect this gift."

Draco smiled a bit. So far, it seemed that Drake had made the right decision. Perhaps in saving her... he'd really been helping himself. "Alright then, but not today. You should let your scar settle a while."

She nodded slightly, seeming to understand, then glanced back at Drake, who seemed to have fallen asleep again, "I will protect you, Drake, I swear it... And this time, without any secrets."


	2. The Ghost of You

This chapter may have a bit of back and forth between the twins, so I'm going to kind of keep bouncing around... I'll label when I change views though, to avoid confusion.

* * *

Audney

It must have been several months since the battle with the Red Death, but Audney, Drake, and Draco rarely left the island where it all happened. The cave where she had recovered had become her training grounds and home. Every morning she would wake up and go into battle with Draco's tail. It was a rather humorous sight, as the dragon himself didn't really have to move at all, just keep lashing his tail at her strategically while she ducked and dodged and struck at him with the spine that had been pulled out of her. On this particular morning, however, she was feeling rather nostalgic. It was snowing, and the snow was, for once, accumulating on the ground outside their cave- an uncommon site, as the island was formed from an active volcano. She sat at the edge of the cave and stared out at it longingly, wishing she had heavy furs to protect her from the cold so she could go out and play. Drake noticed that her behavior was off and came to sit beside her, "What's on your mind?"

"Home," Audney replied softly, "The snow reminds me of home..."

The young dragon shifted uncomfortably as a steady pain rose in his heart- but this pain was not his own. "Why don't you just go back?"

The girl curled into the fetal position, "I can't go back there. It hurts my heart to see him drifting away from me..."

This time, Draco padded over and chimed in, "It may hurt for some time... But not forever. It'll get better with time... But nothing's going to happen if you don't confront what pains you."

Audney stared at the ground for a moment, considering the dragon's words. "What if he doesn't want me back?" She asked weakly, "What if they're all better off without me?"

"There's only one way to find out," Drake encouraged, nudging her playfully. "Besides, you never got to tell Hiccup the truth, did you?"

"It haunts me every day," Audney murmured honestly. After a time, she said, "If I'm right, it should be just about time for Snoggletog. It's a holiday we celebrate in the winter to boost everyone's spirits. A time for merrymaking and gift giving... A time of togetherness..." She turned to Draco, who she had adopted as somewhat of a father-figure, and said, "I don't know if I'm going to stay, but... I want to tell Hiccup the truth, at least. I want to see him again."

* * *

Hiccup

While Audney was reflecting upon life, Hiccup was doing his best to sleep in. It was a cold morning, and he wasn't really too keen on the prospect of getting out of bed to go fly in the cold wind. He'd much rather stay under his warm furs and blankets, but Toothless' incessant pounding on the roof was beginning to wear on him. After fitfully rolling over, he mumbled, "Okay, okay, I'm coming," And sat up slowly, feeling around for his helmet. Once found, he placed it on his head and slid out of bed. Yawning, he went outside to meet Toothless, who was still perched atop the roof, just in case Hiccup wasn't really out of bed yet. "Well good morning, Mr. Bossy," He mumbled, making eye contact with the dragon, who made a strange cackling sound that Hiccup attempted to mimic as Toothless made his way down the side of the house and Hiccup moved toward him, "Do you always have to wake me up so early to go flyyy-ING!" Hiccup slipped on a patch of ice on the side of the house, that had probably been compacted from being walked on every morning, but Toothless managed to catch him and help him to his feet... Er, foot.

"Stupid leg," The teen grumbled as he looked down at his fake leg, struggling to keep his balance for a moment. Toothless cooed and offered his head for Hiccup to lean on, but the boy refused, saying, "No, thanks buddy, I'm okay," Then, reassuringly, he added, "Yeah, we can go flying now," As he reached out to gently touch the Night Fury's head. The contact was met by a most unpleasant response- Toothless burped in his face. "Eww, eww what? Eww! Toothless..." As Hiccup pinched his nose and fanned the stench away, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Who do you think you are, my sister?" Toothless tensed a bit at the mention of Audney. She had been some of a taboo subject around Hiccup, as well it should have been. The thought of her being gone was hard for him to handle, especially during a festive holiday such as this. The words had just slipped out without him even realizing. Hiccup heaved a sigh, "She's really gone, huh?" There was silence between them for a moment before he finally reached out and patted Toothless on the head, "Hey, at least I've still got you, right bud?" Toothless trilled happily and turned to allow Hiccup to get on his back, and, moments later, they were airborne.

"Come on! Let's see what you've got today!" Hiccup encouraged as they soared high above the island. Toothless made a sudden, gut-wrenching nose dive down the side of Berk's tallest mountain, down, down, down to the ocean below, pulling up just before he hit the surface. Hiccup whooped and hollered, thoroughly enjoying the thrill of it all. Was waking up this early in the freezing weather to go flying worth it? Yes. Yes, it was. Nothing to wake you up like near free-falling on the back of a dragon. "You ready?" He asked when he saw a familiar pair of sea stacks approaching. Toothless gave a small nod, but his expression became rather panicked when Hiccup closed his tailfin and stood up, murmuring "Easy," Before jumping off of the dragon who was frantically batting his wings to keep in the air. The boy soared over the top of a ledge that was supported by the sea stacks before falling right back into Toothless' saddle and clicking his foot into place, flaring the prosthetic tail fin out to match the other. "Yes! Finally!" He cheered gleefully.

After flying for a while, letting their racing hearts settle, Hiccup suggested, "What do you think, bud? Wanna go again?" Toothless gave a delighted roar in response. but before they could act, thousands of dragons came rushing at them, and it reminded Hiccup faintly of the time Toothless had brought him to the Red Death. "Woah!" As Hiccup pressed himself down against Toothless and held on for dear life, a passing Nadder clipped his helmet, knocking it clear off his head. Hearing the clang, Hiccup reached up to touch his head, "Oh, no, my helmet!" He looked down after the object that was hurtling toward the sea below, and the next thing he knew, Toothless was diving down after it at full speed. "Wooooaaaah! Toothless! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Woah, woah, wait! Toothless! Stop." The dragon seemed confused, but obeyed nonetheless, fanning his wings to stop their descent just before they hit the water. "We'll get it later, bud. We need to get back and find out what's going on," Hiccup explained, looking back at the swarm of dragons all headed away from Berk.

Toothless hesitated for a moment, studying the water, before turning and carrying Hiccup back to Berk. The second the Night Fury hit the ground, Hiccup swung his legs over the saddle and ran to the panicked villagers. Spotting Astrid among them, he called out to her, rushing to her, first, "Astrid!"

Running to meet him, Astrid asked, "Hiccup, what's going on? Where are they going?" It wasn't long before they were surrounded by upset villagers, all demanding answers from Hiccup.

He winced. Usually when angry mobs came at him, Audney was able to talk them into leaving. All he was able to do was flinch and mumble, "Stop, wait..."

Lucky for him, Stoick came to the rescue, barging through the crowd, shoving people aside as he shouted, "Calm down! Give him a chance to speak!" Then, more calmly, he regarded his son, "Hiccup, where are all of our dragons going?"

Hiccup averted his gaze, wishing he had all the answers like the villagers expected as he mumbled honestly, "Dad... I don't know." The entire crowd was visibly disappointed, but there was really nothing Hiccup could do about it. He looked back to see Toothless and Stormfly snapping at one another, apparently having a conversation (or argument,) before Stormfly finally flew off and joined the rest of the group.

The Vikings slowly but surely began to leave the scene, until the only one left was Hiccup. He went to Toothless' side and sat down beside the dragon, who was staring out at the sea longingly. "I'm sorry bud, I know you'll miss them, but they'll be back, right?" He asked, reaching up to rest a hand on the great beast's back. Toothless gurgled and turned to look at Hiccup with eyes that could see right through him. He nuzzled the boy reassuringly, as if he knew exactly what was on Hiccup's mind. "They've got to come back, right?" Hiccup murmured, leaning into Toothless. He was quiet for a moment before he added, "I still can't believe she's really dead... There's got to be some other explanation..."

Later that evening, everyone had gathered in the great hall, and complaints about Snoggletog being ruined filled the air. Hiccup and the other teens were against the wall, the nearest ones to the door so they would be able to slip out if the conversation got too boring or depressing. Stoick forced his way onto the center stage and boomed, "It's not ruined! We're Vikings! We've been perfectly happy celebrating without dragons for generations, and there's no reason we can't do it again! Now we don't know where they've gone off to, but we have to have faith that they'll be back again soon."

Hiccup rolled his eyes a bit at this piece of advice, "Yeah, try listening to yourself, dad," He mumbled under his breath.

Astrid, who was standing close enough to hear this, asked, "Are you still thinking Audney's alive? Hiccup, it's been months, there's no way she'd make it on her own this long, especially not in this cold!"

"But she's not alone!" Hiccup protested, "Draco and Drake never came back either, they must be looking out for her, right?"

As he had said this a bit more loudly, it attracted the attention of Stoick, who immediately knew what his son was talking about. "As you all know," He regarded the crowd, who had fallen silent, "This is our first holiday... Without my daughter, Audney. I'd just like to remind you all... That if not fer her influence, her sacrifice- there would BE no dragons on Berk." Hiccup quieted at this. He hadn't heard anything about this. His father went on, "In her last words to me, she told me that she and Hiccup had changed, and that it was time that I do the same. She told me to listen to her and my son... And that's what I've done. As some of you may know- and others may not- it was not only Hiccup who fought against the Red Death, but my daughter as well, and the other teens," He gestured to the small group in the back of the room, "And with the death of the Red Death, while we may have lost one of our own, we gained so many more, in finding peace with the dragons, the peace and change that Audney wanted... And so, this Snoggletog, we should not be fretting about the dragons' whereabouts, or why they've gone, we should be celebrating! Because this is the year that has changed Berk forever! Am I right?"

"You're right! We _are_ Vikings! We are tough!" Gobber chimed in, trying to lighten the mood as he waved about a jingle-bell prosthetic hand. "Most of the time... Let's sing some Snoggletog songs!"

Hiccup was taken aback by his father's words. "I've never heard him talk so much about her at one time before... Not even when she was around..." He admitted, but when he turned to look at Astrid, he found that she, along with the others, had already left the Great Hall. Apparently it was too much for them.

He pushed the door open and easily caught up to them in time to hear Ruffnut say, "That was depressing."

"I know! I was looking forward to spending the holiday with Stormfly," Astrid agreed woefully.

It seemed, however, that not everyone was as upset as the girls. Fishlegs was whistling, suspiciously happy given the occasion. This did not go unnoticed by Tuffnut, who asked, "What are you so happy about? Don't you miss Meatlug?"

"Me?! Oh, yeah!" Fishlegs cleared his throat and began wiping at tears that weren't really there, "I... I miss him so much!" When it seemed that the others were not buying his act, he said a bit too quickly, "Well, goodnight!" And shuffled off towards his house.

The gang watched him leave until Astrid suddenly gasped, gathering their attention, "I've got an idea! Let's come up with a bunch of new holiday traditions! You know, to bury the sadness!"

Snotlout and the twins both groaned, but Hiccup considered it for a moment. He could certainly do with a distraction. "Actually, Astrid might be onto something."

"Easy for you to say," Tuffnut snorted, gesturing to Toothless, who appeared to be contemplating how far he could get if he jumped off a cliff facing the ocean, "Your dragon can't go anywhere without you."

"Must be nice," Ruffnut mumbled, brushing past Hiccup. The others followed not too far behind, but Hiccup stayed and watched Toothless for a moment.

"Ah, Toothless..." He mumbled under his breath, "It's my fault you can't fly anymore..." He looked to the ground, thinking about it, "There must be something I can do..." Fidgeting with his arm, he made his way to the blacksmith stall to try to come up with a new system for Toothless' tail.

It took him all night, but come morning, it was finally complete. He didn't even realize how late it was until he heard Astrid call, "Hiccup?"

"Yeah, I'm over here Astrid, comin'," He replied, coming out to the front of the shop where he was working on his latest invention.

"Here, Happy Holidays, from me to you." Astrid said cheerfully, holding a tray with mugs and a pitcher out for Hiccup to take one.

"Thank you, m'lady," Hiccup happily accepted the drink, apparently not stopping to smell it before he took it.

Astrid eyed the folded up leather contraption on the table, "What are you up to?" She questioned.

"Okay, uh, you're going to think I'm crazy, but..." He set the frothy mug down on the workbench as he went on, "I just couldn't stop thinking about what Tuffnut said last night. Toothless can't come and go like the other dragons, and that's... just.. not... fair. I was up all night, and I think I found a way to fix that." He grabbed a brass handle and moved it, showing how the new prosthetic tail fin opened and closed on it's own. He then took a sip off the yaknog and instantly realized his mistake. He gagged on the mysterious, thick fluid, fighting to keep it in his mouth, let alone swallow it.

"No way! You built him a new tail?" Astrid enthused, "So he's gonna be able to fly without you!" Hiccup made an affirmative grunt around the yaknog he was struggling not to spit out, not wanting to offend Astrid. "Wow, what a great gift... What if he never comes back?" This thought hadn't even occured to Hiccup, who hung his head, considering the possibility. Seeing that she'd made him upset, Astrid quickly added, "What am I saying, of course he will. Well, I'm going to go spread some more holiday cheer! You're amazing!" With this, she dismissed herself, actually running out of the smithy.

The moment she was out of sight, Hiccup spat out the yaknog and shook his head, disgusted. After wiping his mouth, he turned back to the tail and stared at it, contemplating not giving it to Toothless. What if Astrid was right? What if he did run away and never came back? Finally, he decided, "Toothless wouldn't do that. And neither would Audney. They'll both come back someday... I hope..." With this, he grabbed the tail under his arm and went off to find Toothless, who was jumping up and down on the roof of his home, knocking shingles off in the process. "Toothless! Come on down, bud!" Hiccup called. The dragon's ears perked, and he looked down at the boy, surprised to see him up already, but came down to greet him nonetheless. "I got something for ya..." Hiccup held the new tail out for Toothless to examine. The dragon sniffed it, then looked back up at Hiccup curiously. "What do you think of that? Yeah..." He went around to Toothless' tail, and, the moment he took the old fin off, Toothless began turning around, as if trying to ask 'what are you doing back there?'

"Would you just... Settle down? Toothless..." Hiccup was reminded of the first time that he'd put a prosthetic tail on Toothless, how hard it had been, how Audney had had to help him hold the tail down... How that was the day she first met Drake. With a sad smile, he said, "Come on bud, let me get this on ya..." He knelt down in the snow and began hooking up the prosthetic, "Yeah... You are... going to love this..." He mumbled, sounding rather depressed. Toothless seemed to notice the change in his tone, as he looked back at Hiccup, concerned. "Okay," Hiccup said, stepping back as he put the last strap in place. Toothless roared and began thrashing his tail about, apparently not too thrilled about it. "No, no, no, no To-Toothless! Stop! Please! Wait!" Hiccup tried to calm the dragon, "Toothless, please-" The dragon suddenly stopped when he realized that the prosthetic had moved with his own natural tail fin. Watching it curiously, he tried this again, bringing the tail around closer to get a better look. Hiccup heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that his hard work had not been destroyed, "Ahh, there you go, see? Got it?" Toothless turned back to him and Hiccup gave him a lopsided grin, "Toothless," He began, but the dragon recoiled when the boy tried to touch him, then, without warning, took off, soaring out of sight within seconds.

Astrid, who had seen Toothless take off, rushed over to check on Hiccup. "Hiccup? Is everything alright?"

"I don't know," Hiccup admitted, hanging his head, "If he comes back, it will be... I just... I don't know if I can handle losing Audney and Toothless so close together like this... It's too much." With this, he brushed past her and retreated to the safety of his room.

For three days he rarely left the house, but on that third morning, there was a thumping sound from above, and the rafters rattled under some great weight. Another bang, then another. Hiccup sat up in bed excitedly, "Toothless!" He ran out of the house, saying, "I knew you'd come ba-" he slipped on the familiar ice patch before he managed to finish his sentence and found himself staring up at his father, who appeared to be repairing the roof.

"Morning, son!" Stoick greeted enthusiastically.

"Oh, hey... dad." Hiccup mumbled, disappointed, as he pushed himself up to his feet.

"Glad you're up. I was looking for your helmet," The man said, climbing down the ladder to have a proper conversation with his son.

Hiccup was horrified as he recalled what had happened, "My- my helmet?"

"Odin needs a place to put your goodies!" The chief replied playfully.

"Yeah, right, I'll uh... get on that... right..." Hiccup mumbled, then turned to leave, but was stopped moments later by Stoick's voice calling out to him.

"Hold on," Stoick commanded, and Hiccup stopped obediently and turned to face his father. "Hold on... Alright, come on, what's on your mind? Out with it."

Hiccup sighed, "Well, it's been three days, dad, I... just thought Toothless would be back by now."

"Oh, I'm sure he's with the other dragons," Stoick said, as if this was supposed to reassure him in some way.

"Yeah? I wish I could be that sure... I mean, I was sure about Audney, and look where that's got me... Now I don't have my sister _or_ my dragon." Hiccup hung his head, still not really wanting to give up on either of them, but... perhaps he was running out of choices.

Stoick heaved a sigh of his own, "Listen, I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year, and you know I miss Audney, too... But what do we do when they can't be here for the holiday? We celebrate them." He placed a meaty hand on Hiccup's tiny shoulder as he went on, "And I imagine that's exactly what Toothless and Audney would want you to do, right?"

Hiccup considered this for a moment, "...You're right."

"Good! Now go get that helmet!" Stoick commanded, and, with this, he shoved his son a tad too hard and went off to resume his chores. "We've had enough disappointment around here."

* * *

Audney

It had taken several days for Audney to steel herself, to find the courage to go back to the island she called her home, and today was the day. "You ready, Drake?"

"Depends. Are you going to make me fly halfway there, then change your mind like the last three days?" Drake asked teasingly, "Look, Audney, if you're not ready-"

"No!" She snapped, startling him with her sudden force, "No... I'm going to do this. It's now or never."

"It doesn't really have to be," Draco reminded, "I doubt he's going anywhere."

Audney shook her head, "It doesn't matter. If I don't do this now, I'll just keep pushing it off, just keep saying, what's another week? Another month? Another year? And for all I know, they could have labeled him an Outcast for siding with the dragons." She pulled herself up onto Drake's back and said, "Come on, buddy. Let's do this."

Moments later, the three were airborne. It was dark now, and Audney couldn't see all that well, but she knew they were going the right way. She could feel it in her gut, this was the way home. They couldn't have been too far off when they heard a massive splash in the water below. "What was that?" She asked.

"A fish?" Drake offered.

"No, too big. Too small to be a sea dragon. Can we go look?" Audney's curiosity got the best of all of them, and, soon, they were all hovering above the sea, "I'm sure this was where it came from..." She mumbled. Suddenly, a head burst out of the water, gasping for breath- a head she recognized all too well. "TOOTHLESS!" She launched herself off of Drake's back and into the water, "Toothless!" The dragon locked his eyes with her and appeared to be shell-shocked for a moment, "Remember me, buddy?" She asked gently, holding her hand out to him.

After a moment, he seemed to calm down, and gave her a big Toothless grin before pouncing on her, licking her face. "Gack! Toothless! Too heavy!" The girl struggled to keep her head above water for a moment before she realized something. "Toothless? Where is Hiccup?" She asked worriedly. The Night Fury's ears perked at the sound of his rider's name, and but rather than show her the way, he dove under the surface of the water, and when he came back up, he had something bulky in his mouth. It didn't take long for Audney to recognize it. "Hiccup's helmet... He's not... He's not down there...?" Before she could ask any more questions, Toothless was airborne.

Draco lifted her out of the water and placed her on his son's back, "He's flying on his own now? Are you sure that was Toothless?" The elder dragon wondered.

"It's gotta be," Audney replied. Then, she saw a glint of light come off of the retreating dragon's tail, like metal reflecting in the moonlight, "Yeah, that's a prosthetic... So where's Hiccup?"

"One way to find out," Drake sped off after Toothless, and the group soon arrived back on the familiar shores of Berk.

"Alright, you guys wait here... For now, this is a covert operation. I don't know if I want to stay or not yet... I imagine I'll decide when I see Hiccup. Until then, no one can know you're here." Audney told Drake and Draco as she slid off the younger of the two.

"We'll be waiting in the cove," Draco told her. The girl nodded and watched them leave before noticing that Toothless was standing off to the side a ways, waiting for her.

"Aww, Toothless, were you waiting for me?" She smiled and made her way over to the Night Fury, her soaking wet clothes (that were beginning to freeze) weighed her down some, but she managed. He led her over to the doors of the Great Hall, and the girl peered inside through the gap between the doors, listening intently. "Huh. So many baby dragons..." She murmured, watching the little ones play for a bit before her eyes finally found Hiccup. "His leg..." She whimpered, "Toothless, what happened to him?" The dragon cooed sympathetically and nuzzled against her... Then Astrid approached Hiccup and began talking.

"Hiccup, I know this must be really hard for you, seeing everyone with their dragons... But you really did a wonderful thing! Thank you," She lifted his chin and gave him a kiss on the lips. That was about enough to make Audney gag.

She got behind Toothless and began pushing him, "Go. Go, Toothless, spoil the mood! Hurry!" She encouraged. He looked back at her in utter confusion, but pushed his way through the doors regardless. Audney smiled to herself as she watched Toothless slink closer to the now hugging pair of teens.

"Astrid, where did Toothless go?" Hiccup asked sadly.

"I don't know," Astrid replied, then, suddenly, noticed Toothless coming in and grinned. "Wow," She began, pulling away from Hiccup, "Man, wouldn't wanna be you right now! I mean, you brought back everyone's dragon except yours!"

Hiccup made a face, "Yeah, you know, this is not helping, at all-" Astrid suddenly shoved him, forcing him to turn around to face the Night Fury who was now bounding towards him. "TOOTHLESS!" He called, running to the dragon, "Hey, bud!" Hiccup gave the dragon a big hug, elated to see him, then seemed to remember... He pulled back and pointed accusingly at Toothless, "Bad dragon, very bad dragon! You scared me to death, don't ever stay away that long again, and what is in your mouth?" Just as he act this, Toothless spat the helmet out onto Hiccup's head.

Audney had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing, "Priceless!"

Unenthusiastic, Hiccup chuckled, "Yeah, you found my helmet..." As he wiped slobber off of his face... Then it hit him, "Wha- HEY! You found my helmet! That's where you've been? Buddy, thank you. You are amazing."

Smiling to herself, Audney murmured, "A boy and his dragon..." With this, she ran off back to the place she once called home and hid underneath her bed, where she waited until Hiccup finally came home with Toothless in tow.

"Ah, buddy, you really had me going. I wasn't sure I was ever gonna see you again," Hiccup said softly. He sat down on the edge of his bed and heaved a sigh, looking over at the matching, unoccupied one across from him until Toothless blocked his view of it by sitting down in front of Hiccup. "I just wish... I just wish Audney was here to see this. How far we've come... You really scared me, Toothless. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have either of you."

There was a familiar chuckle from across the room, "Careful what you wish for, loverboy."

* * *

Isn't Toothless just adorable? I mean, yeah, slobber in that amount is gross, but that was so sweet. Hope ya liked it!


	3. Catching Up

Hiccup blinked in surprise, staring at his dragon, "Toothless? Did you just... Did you just _talk?_ In Audney's voice, at that?" Toothless stared at him for a moment before stepping aside to reveal a black mass crawling out from underneath Audney's bed.

"Aww, Toothless, come on, making him think you were me would've been funny!" The mass whined as it rose from the ground. Now standing at its full height, Hiccup could make out the general shape of a human.

"Toothless? Gimme some light, bud." Hiccup requested, and, at this, the dragon used his flame to light Hiccup's bedside candle. In complete shock, Hiccup stared at the girl before him. She was bruised, her once flowing hair was cut short, and there was a hole in her shirt that revealed a scar where her heart should have been, but there was no doubt in his mind, this was Audney. "Well, that settles it, then. I'm still asleep. This is a dream. When I wake up, you'll both be gone forever." He blew out the candle and flopped back down on his bed with a disappointed sigh, closing his eyes.

Toothless looked to Audney, then back to Hiccup, then Audney again,jerking his head in Hiccup's direction expectantly before re-lighting the candle. "You'd think he would be happier to see us, wouldn't you?" Audney mumbled to Toothless, patting the dragon's head lightly before pouncing on top of Hiccup, her knee making contact with his false leg. "AUGH!" There was a pained and concerned roar in the distance, and Audney winced.

"S-sorry, that's uh," Hiccup sat up and found himself now face-to-face with his twin, who was now sitting in his lap, rubbing her knee.

She paused to meet his gaze, "That worked out better in my head," She admitted sheepishly, then promptly punched him in the shoulder, "That's for the greeting, thinking I'm a dream," She snapped, mimicking Astrid.

"Ow, hey!" Hiccup moved to rub his shoulder, "That hurt!" He thought about it for a moment before realizing, "Wait a second... that _hurt. _You can't feel pain in your dreams."

Audney leaned in to give him a light peck on the cheek, "That's for... everything else."

"I... I don't understand," Hiccup stammered, "You're supposed to be dead, you... You've been gone for months without a trace, where have you _been_?!"

Audney looked down, a small smile still gracing her features, "You're right. I am supposed to be dead." She shoved something into his hands and slid off the bed, pacing over to Toothless, "I'm sure you've noticed the holes in my shirt? Well, they can't really be helped, it's not like I had any spares... Do you know what that is, Hiccup?"

"It looks like... A giant fang?" Hiccup guessed, holding it to the light.

"Close, but no. It's a spine off the Red Death, that dragon you exploded. Last thing I remember was seeing it come flying at Drake's head and trying to make him get down. They said that spine impaled me, completely, went straight through my heart... Dad was so worried about you, he didn't even notice I was missing. I mean, he came back the next day to look, but..." Audney lifted the spine out of Hiccup's fingers, "By then, I was already dead."

Hiccup furrowed his brow, "So... I'm not dreaming, I'm _dead_? Is that what this is?"

With a soft chuckle, Audney shook her head, "No, Hiccup, you're very much alive- we both are. Drake, he... He saved my life."

"I'm no doctor, but unless you're doing some serious exaggerating, it sounds like you were beyond all help." Hiccup mumbled, trying to figure out what exactly was happening here.

"Not all," Audney murmured thoughtfully, resting a hand on Toothless' head, "Toothless, I wonder if you know about this. Do you know the ancient gift of dragons to mankind?" The Night Fury eyed her curiously, "No? Hmm... Maybe it doesn't work with dragons who can't talk." She turned back to Hiccup and said, "See, Dragons are able to do this thing they call 'sharing their heart' with a human... They take half of their heart out and place it inside the human's chest, making it so that every pain either of them has is shared between the two, and so that the human can't die..." She sucked in a breath, "This is important. I'm only telling you and Toothless, and only because I know I can trust you to do the right thing. If I ever lose sight of myself, if I ever become something... something bad... I need you to find Drake and kill him."

"What?! Why Drake?" Hiccup questioned. This wasn't making any sense.

"Because that's the only way to kill me." Audney explained, placing a hand over her heart, "I'd like to think that I'm not like that, that I'd never corrupt Drake's heart, but, if I do... I'll need you to do that for me."

Hiccup stared at her seriously for a time, "You're saying Drake took out half his heart, put it in you, and now you're mostly immortal?" Audney shrugged and nodded affirmatively. Hiccup suddenly swung his legs around to the side of the bed, "I really don't get it, but that's not important right now. We have to tell dad you're back so-"

"No!" Audney yelped, then covered her mouth, afraid she might have woken Stoick, "No, Hiccup, please, I need to tell you-"

"Whatever it is, it can wait, it's not important-"

"It's important to me!" Audney cut in, her voice more firm than Hiccup had ever heard it before, "You kept brushing me off and telling me it could wait before, and I died before I got the chance to tell you! It took almost a week for me to get up the courage to come here and tell you, you know that? And I'm not going to let anything get in the way this time, I need to tell you the truth."

Hiccup, realizing that there was no arguing with Audney, looked at her suspiciously, "The truth...? Truth about what?"

Audney's face twisted into a pained expression as she averted her gaze, "Hiccup... When we were little, you were horrible at everything. Anything you set your mind to, you failed at. When you went fishing, the fish caught you. When you-"

"Yes, I get it, thank you, this is not helping at all. Is this seriously what you came to tell me?" Hiccup asked, raising a brow at her.

"But mom was always there. She was always there to pick you back up and support you through it all, something dad was never really capable of doing. After she died... When you failed, you'd just... You'd give up and get depressed about it, which only mad father even angrier... It was hard to watch, as a kid, you know? I couldn't stand it, and I knew I had to do something, so... When I felt a fish tug on my line, I jumped off the boat." Hiccup's eyes widened as he stared at her incredulously, "When I was asked to carry something, I made it look like I was straining and struggling to hold on. I wasn't born a 'hiccup.' I _became_ one, because I knew that was... That was the only way to see you smile again. To give you faith in yourself, and protect you. They would've pulled us apart if I hadn't... This whole time, I've... I've been living a lie, and you deserve to know the truth. You're a big boy now, you don't need me looking after you."

There was a long pause as a veil of silence fell between them, during which Audney refused to make eye contact with Hiccup. In truth, her eyes were stinging as she struggled to hold back tears. This was not an easy admission for her, by any means, but she had to do it. Finally, Hiccup asked, "You... You did all that... for me?"

Audney nodded, "The only ones who caught on were Drake, Draco, and Gobber... Of course, I told Toothless about it, too." The dragon nuzzled against her side, and she lightly pat him on the head. "That's what I came to tell you... Because I'm done pretending. I've been given a tremendous gift, and I have to fight to protect it, and, more than that... I'm going to live the rest of my life by the Old Code. A knight is sworn to valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked."

"That's what you kept saying before..." Hiccup recalled, then fell silent.

After a long silence, Audney finally said, "Listen, I... I know it's not fair to expect you to forgive me, and I don't, but... I just wanted you to know the truth, because you deserve it."

"Forgive you?" Hiccup got to his feet, causing his sister to recoil, "_Forgive_ you?! Audney, how can you even _say_ that?! I'm the one who should be asking for forgiveness! I... I can't believe I was so selfish-"

"Don't," Audney mumbled, "I clipped my wings of my own free will, and my only regret is that, in doing so, I was untruthful."

"But if you didn't, none of this would've been possible, Audney! If you hadn't believed in me, I'd still be that perpetually in the way nuisance of a Hiccup," The boy pointed out, "Don't you remember how everyone else told me I was wasting my time sketching and coming up with inventions? You told me not to listen to them, and even convinced Gobber to give us our own closet in the smithy so I'd be out of the way! If it weren't for you, I would never have had the confidence or the means to build that bola launcher... Without that, I'd never have met Toothless, and none of this would have been possible."

Audney hesitated for a moment before lunging at Hiccup, throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace, "Gods, I missed you and your brain so much, Hiccup!"

Hiccup smiled awkwardly and hugged back, "I missed you too, Audney... Why did you stay away for so long?"

"I was afraid to come back. I knew you were alive, but I didn't know how things would be here. I.. I didn't know if you would even want me back, especially after all I've done... But I knew I had to tell you the truth, so I'd have to visit again someday." Audney mumbled.

"Visit?" Hiccup pulled away and looked her in the eye, "What do you mean, 'visit?' You're not leaving again...?"

Unable to stand the sight of her brother's hurt expression, Audney averted her gaze, "I'm not sure. I haven't decided... Drake and Draco pretty much left that decision up to me. The reason I had to come was to tell you the truth, and now you know, so... What I'm going to do from here on out, I'm not really sure."

The boy clung to her once more, "Audney, you just came back, I don't want to lose you again..." He wrenched his eyes shut and buried his face in her shoulder, "If you really have to go, I understand, but... Please, at least just stay for tonight, sleep on it?"

Audney was quiet for a moment, considering this, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Toothless, who was feeling rather left out of all this hugging business, reared back on his hind legs and moved to hug them both, but instead tripped over his own tail and fell onto them, knocking them over like dominoes into a heap on the bed. "Can't... breathe..." The dragon got up quickly and sulked back into a corner, ashamed. All he'd wanted was a hug. Audney, after catching her breath, laughed musically, "Crazy dragon." Toothless snorted indignantly in response as Audney got to her feet, brushing against Hiccup's prosthetic again in the process. Of course, this time, she couldn't help staring, "Hiccup, what happened to you?"

It took him a moment to figure out what Audney was referring to, but after following her gaze down to his leg, he mumbled, "Oh, you mean this?" He sat up, resting his left hand on the end of his natural left leg, where it met the prosthetic, "Yeah, that was..." He paused, looking at Toothless thoughtfully, "You know, I really don't know _what_ happened to it."_  
_

The girl blinked, "A scrape or bruise, I can understand saying "how did that get there?" but, Hiccup, you're missing a _limb_. How do you not remember what happened?! Even Gobber remembers how he lost his!"

"I was unconscious!" Hiccup pointed out, "I didn't have the best luck with the Red Death, either. I got knocked unconscious by its tail and thrown right off Toothless... Toothless dove down after me and managed to shield me from the blast and break my fall, but... I'm not sure if my leg got burned off or fell off in the fall or what... I never really asked. I was just glad to be alive, and to have Toothless waiting by my bedside when I woke up." He smiled fondly at the memory, then remembered, "That's right! You have to stay, at least through tomorrow! You have to see what Berk is like now, Audney! All of it... Dad did it all for you, you have to at least stay for tomorrow."

Again, Audney blinked in surprise, "For.. me? What do you mean?"

"He should tell you himself," Hiccup said softly.

Audney sighed and glanced out the window thoughtfully before saying, "Let me update Drake and Draco... Go ahead and go to sleep, Hiccup. I'll be here when you wake up."

The boy eyed her warily, "You promise?"

She grinned proudly back at him and held the Red Death's spine to her chest, "His word speaks only truth. Or hers, in my case." With this, she nimbly flung herself out the window, landing on all fours like a cat, and made for the cove where they'd first met Toothless.


End file.
